Drugs out of the market! What about the kids who used them....

Antidepressant Ritalin to be delisted because of abuse

The Yomiuri Shimbun
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20071019TDY04303.htm


A panel of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on Wednesday decided to remove the psychotropic drug Ritalin from its list of approved medicines to treat depression as it has become widely abused.

Following the decision by the pharmaceutical and food sanitation council, the ministry within this month will restrict the prescription of the highly addictive drug solely for the treatment of narcolepsy.

Ritalin is the brand name of methylphenidate hydrochloride, a central nervous system stimulant.

To prevent a further increase of the abuse of the drug, especially among young people, the ministry ordered Novartis Pharma K.K., the pharmaceutical company that produces and distributes the drug, to develop a system to manage its distribution.

The Minato Ward, Tokyo-based company plans to set up the system by early next year.

Under the new system, which is as strict as that applied for narcotics for medical use, doctors with expertise in diagnosing narcolepsy as well as medical institutions and pharmacies that prescribe the drug will be required to be preregistered.

Also at the panel meeting, Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. proposed the same management system regarding the distribution of Concerta, a drug used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

(Oct. 19, 2007)